But that’s what made Hippo what it is today. The place always felt a little cavernous, and when full, it’s bustling and, sure, maybe a bit loud. It’s a very honest, trusting environment.” It’s endearing when guests watch the cooks, almost like sushi chefs. We wanted to get rid of all the pomp and circumstance. “At the time, we couldn’t pull the trigger on certain with Hippo and just said, let’s let everyone see everything. Kind of like a fishbowl from the sidewalk,” Molina says. “With Triple Beam, it almost feels like an atelier, where you can see the work getting done, you can see all the action.
one that hides the kitchen and the hard-working crew.
#HIPPO HIGHLAND PARK HAPPY HOUR WINDOWS#
In this case, it meant fewer windows and walls, i.e. As with most restaurants trying to open in a certain timeframe, delays and budget constraints often dictate the final result.
Keeping things simple worked in Hippo’s favor. “If that meant that most people who come here are from a close radius, great. “Ultimately, we wanted to serve the community,” he says. To Capella, Hippo was simply offering the best neighborhood restaurant it could be. “It’s just how people are eating right now. “Every night we want to put on the best dinner party in L.A.,” he adds. It took us a bit to get it where it is now.”Īfter working in more formal restaurants like Osteria Mozza, Molina said they wanted to open the kind of place where everyone pushed dishes in the middle of the table, sipped cocktails, shared bottles of wine, and enjoyed themselves. “It was a different beat on Figueroa than, say, the streets in West Hollywood, Venice or DTLA. “When Randy showed me the brand new building, there were definitely people out and walking around,” Molina says. Stripped down in design, it was never meant to be fussy or stuffy, but it was destined to be the focal point around which everything else buzzed.
#HIPPO HIGHLAND PARK HAPPY HOUR FULL#
Tucked between the pizza shop and wine store, the massive space has a high arched ceiling, exposed wood bones, an Eric Junker floral mural covering one wall, and an open kitchen that’s full of energy. An outpost of Go Get ‘Em Tiger joined the party with a caffeine jolt next door. In the front along the sidewalk they opened Triple Beam with slabs of puffy, Roman-style pizza you buy by weight in the back, Highland Park Wine, sister to Silverlake Wine, with shelves filled with natural and biodynamic wines. When Hippo opened in 2018, the partners wanted to bring several businesses that the neighborhood might want together all in one place. The goal: Throw ‘the best dinner party in L.A.’ every night. Of course, several housemade pastas are on the menu (and worth an order!), including the semolina spaghetti with guanciale, tomato & spicy pickled peppers, as well as the winter squash cappellacci with browned butter, sage & amaretti! Carefully handmade pasta, perfectly cooked to al dente, truly makes all the difference.1. I was a huge fan of the veggie starters- from the cool haricot verts with serrano chili toasted hazelnuts & Frenchie vinaigrette, to the griddled cauliflower with cauliflower “tahini” & walnut raisin caper relish, the flavors were truly unique. The bread basket of housemade focaccia was perfectly crusty and chewy, and I strongly suggest you start with the burrata di bufala (imported from Lazio-Italy!), served with even more delicious, carby goodness. Perhaps that’s why I liked it so much from the moment we walked in, but once we tasted the food, it truly won me over. Nestled off the busy street, just behind Triple Beam Pizza (another fave!), Hippo’s rustic, Italian-American vibes make it seem very New York to me. So when we had good friends in town staying with us recently, I knew just the spot for dinner. Hippo in Highland Park had been on my radar for a while now- multiple friends had raved about it, and I couldn’t help but drool over their Instagram. I love discovering tasty, new-to-me places in my (or a close by) neighborhood.
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